Teen Strangled in 2013 Murder with Killer Pretending to Mourn

HARTFORD, Wis. — In July 2013, Jessie Blodgett, a 19-year-old theater student, was found strangled in her bed hours after returning from a cast party. The tragedy shocked the small town and her close circle of friends, particularly Daniel Bartelt, a classmate and former boyfriend, who sat with her grieving family that very afternoon.

Jessie had performed in Fiddler on the Roof the night before and was discovered dead at noon the next day by her mother, who noted the body was staged to appear as if she were still asleep. Her death sent reverberations through Hartford, a community that had not witnessed a homicide in nearly three decades, according to local police.

A recent episode of Investigation Discovery’s series A Killer Among Friends outlines how Bartelt inserted himself into the family’s sorrow, reminiscing about Jessie while hiding his dark involvement. “Nobody knew who the killer could be,” said Ian, a friend of Jessie’s. “It was tough to conceptualize who could have done this.”

When questioned by police, Bartelt feigned innocence, but investigators became suspicious after he described details of the murder unknown to the public. He also had a troubling past, having recently attacked a woman in a nearby park. During that incident, he held a knife to her but claimed it was meant to scare her.

On July 21, shortly after Jessie’s murder, Bartelt asked to be dropped off at the police station. When friends returned to pick him up, they were met by law enforcement informing them he was being detained.

The breakthrough in the case came when police linked Bartelt to the murder through a search of trash cans near the crime scene, finding ropes, bloody sanitizing wipes, and tape. DNA evidence confirmed his involvement.

After a 16-day investigation, Bartelt was arrested and charged with Jessie’s murder. At the trial, evidence confirmed that Jessie had been sexually assaulted prior to her death. Despite maintaining his innocence, Bartelt was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Jessie’s father, Buck Blodgett, spoke about his disbelief at Bartelt’s actions, expressing sadness rather than anger. “Our first reaction wasn’t, ‘We hate this kid,’” he said. “It was, ‘Oh my God, what happened to Dan?’”

Even after the conviction, Bartelt continued to claim his innocence, stating, “I can’t give you the answers that you’re looking for.” Meanwhile, Buck Blodgett founded a non-profit organization in Jessie’s memory, focusing on male violence against women, advocating for a cause Jessie was passionate about before her tragic death.